BRASS ELEGANCE
Putting creative thinking in the spotlight
As a jewellery designer, the owner of this terraced house in south-west London is not only used to working with metals, she has a keen eye for the skills and creative thinking of the designer-maker, hence her choice of Sola Kitchens to create the kitchen of her dreams.
The Brief
The client particularly liked Sola Kitchen's use of aged brass in their designs and she also had her heart set on a burnt plum paint colour that she hoped could be custom-made for her. She wanted a glazed pantry, and the full range of appliances including a plumbed-in freezer with an ice-maker, a dishwasher, and a downdraft Bora. The boiler needed to be housed within one of the cabinets and she also wanted the layout to be designed so that she could include a dining table within the space.
The designer's solution took its cue from the client's work as a jewellery designer, using panels covered with aged brass and with mitred edges to create a spectacular island that, topped with a slab of white Macaubas quartzite that hangs over at one end, looks rather like a jewellery box with the lid partially raised to open. To make the most of the views through the extension from either of the two doorways that lead from the front of the house, the spraypainted cabinetry is arranged along just one side of the room, leaving room for a bench and dining table that can be pushed up against the opposite wall when not in use, and vistas down and out through the glazed doors into the garden. A pair of tall Shaker-style cabinets house the fridge-freezer on one side and the boiler and some storage space on the other, while base cabinets beneath the countertop, which is inset with a Cavauno sink, enclose a second fridge, a bin and the dishwasher, with more storage on either side of the downdraft Bora in the island. A bulkhead between the two doorways was the ideal spot for the pantry, with frosted fluted glass windows rather than clear glass as this is also the main food storage space in the room.
Special Features
Artistic solutions: to avoid having to order an additional slab of the quartzite for a large splashback and not using all of it, a strip of aged brass has been laid in along the top of the upstand, and a painted panel on top of that, with the layers, topped off with a display shelf, also painted in the same burnt plum colour, turning a challenge into a creative opportunity.
Finishing touches: instead of fixing the power socket backplates to the aged brass on the island, the outline of the sockets themselves have been precision cut into the metal so that only the plug holes are visible.
Materials & Finishes
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3.- White Macaubas Quartzite
- Antique Brass
- Spray Painted Ash in Bespoke Shade
The process
